System and apparatus for sharing private video streams with first responders

ABSTRACT

A video surveillance service shares image streams with first responder agencies in the event of emergency. Nominated agencies establish access credentials at the surveillance service data center. A camera is shared by a customer administrator&#39;s selection of permissions on each camera via privileged web-browser or mobile device. Permissions enable selection by static meta data such as type, audio, location, motion, recognition, PTZR, spectrum, and epoch. Video streams of present and past epochs are controlled by ranges of time. A responding agency receives an electronic notification from the administrator to present their access credential and a handle for each shared camera of interest. A notification may be customized for each responding agency and each event by dynamically generating a link to a secure webserver which records geo-location or network identifiers for validation. Video servers include virtual machines dedicated to each responding agency but controlled by a customer administrator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention is a CONTINUATION IN PART application of Ser. No.15/253,871 filed Sep. 1, 2016. The present application also benefitsfrom provisional application 62/305,523 filed 8 Mar. 2016 which isincorporated by reference in its entirety. The present invention alsobenefits from the priority date of application Ser. No. 15/253,871Filed: Sep. 1, 2016 which in incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK OR ASA TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB)

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINTINVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The disclosure relates to over-the-air streaming of video surveillanceimages. More particularly, the methods and systems described hereinrelate to enabling emergency agencies to access private systems.

As is known, an emergency notification system is a method offacilitating the one-way dissemination or broadcast of messages to oneor many groups of people, alerting them to a pending or existingemergency. Private surveillance networks containing cameras areintentionally not accessible to the public or government.

What is needed is a way to securely bridge from privately managedsurveillance networks to first responders on site or enroute to anemergency.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A private surveillance system notifies and activates emergencyresponders' access to video streams upon user command or automatedtriggering conditions.

Real-time video access is provided to first responders when a facilityadministrator activates access to share selected cameras. The firstresponder agencies are invited before hand to establish authenticationcredentials and download applications to their mobile video displayapparatus.

Immediate situational awareness can be crucial when there are intruders,a fire, or other emerging situations. The insights that first respondersgain from the clear, deep visibility can directly impact theiractions—from necessary evacuations, to the specific protective measuresthey might take.

The system enables facility administrators to notify pre-designatedlocal first responders of this availability: critical, real-timeinsights in the event of an emergency situation—while still retainingtheir facility's full daily privacy. Facility administrators firstpre-designate their list of first responders who could be authorized toview shared video during emergencies. They will also deputize otherinternal personnel to be capable of activating the emergency video feed.

Each first responder agency will receive an invitational email. Uponacceptance of the terms and conditions, and establishing authentication,the first responders will download a mobile app so they will be able toinstantly view the video while in transit during an emergency.

Video streams will continue to be private (unshared)—only accessible bythe organization—until a facility administrator or deputy activates theaccess to shared cameras and selected permissioned streams of data orvideo. Permissions include display of static meta data such as location,motion sensing, spectrum, night vision, indoor, outdoor, type of camera,object recognition, facial recognition, heat sensing, and audio. Videostreams of present and past epochs are controlled by selectingpermissions and ranges. While the emergency video stream access isenabled, all designated first responders can view permissioned videousing a web browser or on a secure mobile app.

Optionally, facility administrators may vector specific camera images tothe first responders for viewing. All designated first responders couldreceive an email which includes direct links to the specified cameras.An open RESTful cloud video API allows the organization's physicalsecurity teams to integrate the first responder video emails and accesswith emergency notification systems they may have in place for firstresponders

Each responding agency controls the distribution of the authenticationcredential within its department and affiliates.

Each responding agency may receive a uniquely customized notificationwith a dynamically generated link to a secure webserver which willrecord geo-location or network identifiers for validation or sanitychecking.

The surveillance system data center will direct image streams from theshared cameras to the requesting browser after authentication e.g. userid and password, according to the permissions selected by the customeradministrator. Video servers may include virtual machines dedicated toeach responding agency. Any administrator of a customer in the regionserved by a responding agency may activate video streaming by the serverthrough the end of the incident.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe disclosure will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-5 are block diagrams of a system with data flow among thefacility, the surveillance service center and a first responder agency.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a processor suitable for performing amethod embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an illustrative method embodiment of theinvention causing a processor to perform aspects of the invention at avideo streaming server.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an illustrative method embodiment of theinvention causing a processor to perform aspects of the invention at asurveillance service center server.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an illustrative method embodiment of theinvention causing a processor to perform aspects of the invention at anemergency agency apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an illustrative method embodiment of theinvention causing a processor to perform aspects of the invention at aresponding agency apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a system embodiment for a plurality ofindependent facility asset administrators or customers of a videosurveillance service.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a system embodiment for one of a pluralityof responding agencies, each receiving a different video stream.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a system for sharing private video streamswith first responders.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an apparatus for sharing private videostreams to a browser of a responding agency.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method embodiment for operation of asurveillance system video server.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a method embodiment for operation of a mobilevideo display.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an apparatus forsharing private video streams to a browser of a responding agency.

FIG. 18 is flowchart of a further method embodiment for operation of asurveillance system video server.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an apparatus forsharing private video streams.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for a further method embodiment for operation ofa surveillance system video server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

A customer of a video surveillance service wishes to share image streamswith first responder agencies in the event of an emergency. Asurveillance facility asset administrator selectively stores cameraparameters into an access permissions controller. This includes staticmeta data and a dynamic handle and video streaming boundaries for eachcamera intended to be selectably shared.

Previously nominated and enrolled responding agencies have establishedaccess credentials and configured their command center and mobilewireless equipment for live and historical downloads of images.

A selection of cameras will be shared when the administrator of thesurveillance service customer sets permissions on each camera. Uponnotification by the administrator or a deputy, the responding agenciespresent their access credentials and requests image streams from asecure surveillance system server.

Permissions include display of static meta data such as type of camera,resolution, location, motion sensing, spectrum, night vision, audio, andfacial or object recognition.

Video streams of present and past epochs are controlled by settingpermissions and ranges.

A responding agency will receive an electronic notification from theadministrator to present their access credential along with a handle foreach shared camera. Non-limiting illustrative examples of an electronicnotification includes a text, an email, a recorded voice message, and anIP packet e.g. UDP, or DNS query.

The handle for each camera may be dynamically synthesized for the eventand discarded after the conclusion of the event. The administratorswitches the permissions from static display to streaming the presentepoch (live), a past epoch (history), or both.

Each responding agency may receive a customized notification with adynamically generated link to a secure webserver which will recordgeo-location or network identifiers for validation or sanity checking.

In an embodiment, the notification to the responding agency includes adynamically generated transient link to a secure webserver. The securewebserver records geo-location data or electronic identifiers from thebrowser and checks a white list or a black list. Is the request comingin from Ukraine via AOL? Is the request coming from an IPv6 hostdedicated to a government network? There will be consequences, courtorders, denial of service.

Non-limiting exemplary geo-location data and identifiers includeLCID/CID Cell base station identifier, GPS coordinates, WiFi orBluetooth signals, and IMEI.

In an embodiment, a notification message to a responding agency has anhttps link to an incident-unique login screen; reads and checks IPv6,IMEI, cell, GPS, WiFi, geo-location fence which can be checked againstknown responder agency IP/domain name.

Each responding agency may access video streams through a dedicatedvirtual machine which is popped by a facility administrator and remainsactive until the end of the incident.

In an embodiment, each responding agency has a dedicated browser whichaccesses a dedicated API operating in a virtual machine image which canbe popped open or purged from a processor core in the surveillancesystem server. The browser may carry its own certificate.

A video surveillance service shares image streams with first responderagencies in the event of emergency. Each customer of a videosurveillance service nominates responding agencies which support hisfacilities. The agencies are invited to establish access credentialsstored at the surveillance service data center. This can be by simplypicking a user id and password.

A present epoch is live streaming from the point the administrator makesa selection until it is deselected. A past epoch enables the respondingagency to look back in time before the administrator's selection for aday, a week, all recorded video. A simplified setting consists ofchoosing among live, past, and both.

The responding agency logs in at a surveillance system service center.

A conventional surveillance system includes a facility assetadministrator console (administrator) in control of a plurality ofsurveillance cameras. The cameras stream video to a video stream storeor cache co-located at a secure and redundant surveillance servicecenter which is remote from the facility and its cameras.

The invention consists of a shared camera meta data and streampermissions store which is under the control of the administrator. Theadministrator sets permissions on whether the camera is shared with atleast one responding agency. The administrator controls how much of thecamera meta data is visible to responding agencies such as its cameratype, physical location, its resolution, color/monochrome, motiondetection, audio and heat capabilities, indoor, outdoor, object orfacial recognition, visible/non-visible ranges of spectrum, livestreaming, and range of history availability e.g. past epoch/currentepoch. The administrator can store several sets of permissions andswitch among them or control each permission separately. Some camerasmay not be shared at all and are not in this permissions store.

The invention also includes a responding agency account managementsystem which includes the accounts and passwords for an agent to loginat the surveillance service center.

The system also includes a plurality of responding agency window layoutsunder the control of the administrator. The layouts identify the camerasfor each window pane, but the permissions store determines what istransmitted to the window pane. Statistics, meta data, or a still testimage may be used as a default during setup and test.

The system also includes an electronic message system to inform aresponding agency that permissions have been set for access and that theadministrator requests that the agency use the permitted video streams.

The responder first logs into the service center, receives a windowlayout identifying cameras, and requests display of surveillancecontent. The service center checks user name and password, retrieves andprovides the current window layout, and streams whatever theadministrator has enabled to access the shared camera meta data andvideo streams according to the permissions in stores.

Live streaming or history is enabled by the administrator throughchanging a parameter within permissions store. A facility assetadministrator may select a window layout designed for different types ofemergencies or sections of a campus or have different windows fordifferent agencies.

For economy and privacy, video streams captured at a surveillance systemare compressed and encrypted for transmission and storage. Directlyaccessing the stream would display unintelligibly. The system does notenable permanent access to any camera at any time.

The first responder agencies pertinent to a private surveillance networkare invited, validated, and verified. Their dispatchers are supportedthrough a secure channel. A two step process is performed by thesurveillance system administration team upon determining a need forfirst responders: video streams and time ranges are selected forexposure by synthesizing temporary links, and the API are allocated tocertain first responder agencies.

Emergency personnel embedded within the facility such as a enterprise'sown campus police, fire, and ambulance may have access to cameras at alltimes. Personnel notified of an emergency event receive an accesscontrol message from the surveillance system. One or more video streamsare played in the mobile app. For a perimeter intrusion, the internaland external view of the alerting sensor is displayed, motion detectionfor nearby cameras is enabled and triggers streams. For a fire/smoke/COalarm, a stored stream of the time prior to the event is alsoscrollable. For a 911 call, video streams of a geo-location surroundingthe call origin are enabled. Video streams include an audio track in oneembodiment.

The streams are encrypted to specific first responder personnelidentities or roles. Emergency services dispatchers have the capabilityto add message recipients to the viewer list. In an embodiment, asurveillance system notifies on-call emergency responders and enablesaccess to video streams upon user command or automated triggeringconditions.

In an emergency situation determined by conditions or a system operator,viewing by first responders is enabled of camera streams. The streamsmay be live or stored. The storage may be retained at the cameralocation or at a higher security data center. The user interfaces forthe system operator and the responder require not more than one click orbutton press.

The system includes role based mobile video player devices assigned toemergency services personnel, typically fire, medical, and lawenforcement. The first responders thus survey the situationbefore/during/after their arrival onsite. The mobile video players maybe body worn, hand held, or integrated into their vehicles and on apersonal network.

Each dispatched responder receives a message when they are providedaccess to view camera images. The messages may be delivered by email, aninternal mobile message system or commercial SMS and texting. In anemergency situation a trigger condition causes an access credential tobe sent to dispatched personnel. A security system operator may with onetouch of a web application, enables access control and transmitsnotification to pre-stored responders. This may be email addresses ofindividuals, roles, or aliases. The operator may select from a storedlist of message recipients. A fire alarm by sensor or by manualoperation may trigger creation and transmittal of the notification.

The video player device presents live and stored streams with or withoutaudio, from camera locations pertinent to the type of emergency. Thestored images are at both the location and a centralized data repositorywith high bandwidth. The video stream is provided by whichever locationhas the highest mobile bandwidth. It may be from an antenna within thepremises or one well linked with the cellular data network.

Notification and credentials may be delivered by email, SMS, orencrypted messaging service. For large authorities and agencies, onlythe dispatched responder should receive an access credential. Of coursethe chain of command have supervisory privileges. Access may berestricted to devices within a geo-location boundary of the eventlocation. To protect confidentiality, devices transmit their GPS orother location attribute and be within a geo-fence to receive mobilestreaming images.

The invention notifies first responders of availability of surveillanceassets. Mobile devices are communicatively linked to video streams atsecurity premises. Selected video streams are live or replayed fromstorage. Access control may be triggered by system user, or automated byan event.

During installation and initialization, a bidirectional system validatesfirst responders. First responders submit data to offer services for aregion. A third party vets proposed first responders to confirm they aregenuine and not malicious or fraudulent. The list of validated firstresponders is presented to surveillance system operators during apre-designation session. First responders must provide credentials,references, and desired region and responsibilities to the vettingauthority. Upon confirmation by the vetting party they are added to thelist of valid first responders. Periodic tests confirm the continuedvalidity.

In an embodiment, an apparatus presents an open nomination portal foragencies to self-nominate, potential service clients to suggest,customers to enroll, and the general public to offer contact informationfor first responder entities. A second portal presents a list ofverified contact information which may be selected for pre-designationby system administrators for their facilities. A transformation ofnominees to selectable first responders includes checking that theaddresses are not relays, really connect to certified responderorganizations, are not aliases or misleading names, and can be trustedto receive the emergency live video feed and refer it to actual swornfirst responders.

Facility administrators pre-designate their list of first responders whowill be authorized to view the video during emergencies. They will alsoauthorize specific internal personnel to be capable of turning on theemergency live video feed.

To ensure that the connection is made, after the administrator submitsthe first responders name, organization and email address, each firstresponder will get a notification email and ‘accept’ the request.Typically they can download app and download instructions so firstresponders can view it remotely/in transit. The notification step allowsthe first responder to opt out of being a first responder to one or moresurveillance systems. An unknown or undesired source of video streamscan be refused by the first responder during the confirmation process.

Following set up, the video streams continue to be private—accessible byorganization only—until their explicitly authorized personnel activatesaccess to selected video streams. As a safeguard to avoid accidentallysending alerts, the administrators must navigate a two step process. Intest mode, only avatars in a virtual reality set are displayed.

Once the emergency video access is enabled, all designated firstresponders can view video from certain configuration controlled majorweb browsers or a trusted mobile app for a limited range of time.Sharing with a first responder allows access to historical time from apreset point prior to activation time and continues active untilcancelled. The entire history stream is not enabled for any emergencyevent.

The apparatus further includes a circuit to enable first responder tosort, filter, and prioritize which cameras they can see to efficientlymanage access to possibly relevant content. In an example, all camerasin a city or geography may be desired during a dynamic situation. Inthat case, the responders covering a part of the zone would need to sortby geography or active motion within a time period. The simplest sortwould be the superset of cameras made available by multiple activesurveillance system operators. A responder may also want to add tagssuch as grouping street views, indoor lobbies, indoor views to betteridentify which cameras are potentially useful. Tags are set by either orboth the responders and the system operators. Logic operations mayselect tags matching a criteria or pattern. Responders may add any tags.Generally system operators have a limited menu of available tags such aslocation, spectrum, orientation, color, sound, and range.

The apparatus provides the surveillance system operator with an optionto identify specific cameras or cameras within geo-location zones forthe first responders to view. All designated first responders mayreceive an email notification with links to particular cameras

The invention further has an open RESTful cloud video DAPI to allow theorganizations physical security teams to integrate the first respondervideo alerts and access with other emergency notification systems theymay be putting in place for first responders.

The system is distinguished from conventional surveillance systems byits on-demand cloud based security and operations video managementsystem (VMS) which has both cloud and on-premise recording forredundancy. The apparatus delivers secure, encrypted recording, cameramanagement, mobile viewing and alerts. The platform uses time based datastructures used for indexing, search, retrieval and analysis of the liveand archived video.

In an embodiment, the method performed by a responder director alsoincludes: receiving nominated 1st responders; identifying dispatchportals for notification of each 1st responder; and verifying identityand security of dispatch portal for each 1st responder.

Both 1st responders and private surveillance system administrators mustregularly confirm their mutual agreement.

In an embodiment, the method performed by a responder director alsoincludes: determining which surveillance systems are served by eachverified 1st responder; determining that each surveillance systemadministrator potentially entrusts a verified 1st responder with aprivate video stream; and configuring the responder director to transmita deep link to appropriate video streams upon activation by itssurveillance system administrator.

One aspect of the invention is a system for activation of emergencyresponder access to video streams including: a responder pre-designationapparatus whereby system administrators pre-designate a list of firstresponders who upon receiving an alert will receive video during anevent; a notification confirmation apparatus whereby pre-designatedfirst responders confirm their acceptance and receive a secure mobileapplication with encryption and identity confirmation; an eventactivation apparatus whereby an authenticated system operator upondetermining a situation requires an emergency response, triggers a videofeed through an API to mobile devices equipped with the secure mobileapplication; a notification apparatus whereby an authenticated systemoperator selects cameras in geo-location zones or specific cameras,transforms camera identities to a deep link format, and transmits amessage containing said deep link to the list of first responders; andan application programming interface integration apparatus to receiveand respond to systems operated by physical security teams.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of the system also includes:receiving by application programming interface (API), eventnotifications, responder contact lists, camera identities, and requeststo stream video images to a responder mobile device; transmitting avideo image stream to a responder mobile device in response to receivinga request by an API; receiving from a user interface, a list of firstresponders are pre-designated to receive a stream of video images upondetermination of a condition; transmitting a notification to an addressof the list of pre-designated first responder; receiving acceptance froma pre-designated first responder of the intention to receive a stream ofvideo images upon a condition and that the address is correct; enablinga downloaded application on the mobile device of the responder;receiving a determination by sensors or by an authenticated systemoperator of a condition; and enabling emission of a stream of videoimages to an enabled application on the mobile device of the responder.

One aspect of the invention is a system for activation of emergencyresponder video streams including: a responder pre-designation apparatuswhereby system administrators pre-designate a list of first responderswho upon receiving an alert will receive video during an event; anotification confirmation apparatus whereby pre-designated firstresponders confirm their acceptance and receive a secure mobileapplication with encryption and identity confirmation; an eventactivation apparatus whereby an authenticated system operator upondetermining a situation requires an emergency response, triggers a videofeed through an API to mobile devices equipped with the secure mobileapplication; a notification apparatus whereby an authenticated systemoperator selects cameras in geo-location zones or specific cameras,transforms camera identities to a transient link format, and transmits amessage containing said transient link to the list of first responders;and an application programming interface integration apparatus toreceive and respond to systems operated by physical security teams.

Another aspect of the invention is a method for operation of the systemdescribed above having the processes: receiving by applicationprogramming interface (API), event notifications, responder contactlists, camera identities, and requests to stream video images to aresponder mobile device; transmitting a video image stream to aresponder mobile device in response to receiving a request by an API;receiving from a user interface, a list of first responders arepre-designated to receive a stream of video images upon determination ofa condition; transmitting a notification to an address of the list ofpre-designated first responder; receiving acceptance from apre-designated first responder of the intention to receive a stream ofvideo images upon a condition and that the address is correct; enablinga downloaded application on the mobile device of the responder;receiving a determination by sensors or by an authenticated systemoperator of a condition; and enabling emission of a stream of videoimages to an enabled application on the mobile device of the responder.

QRcodes on garments worn by participants allow floating identity or roletags to be displayed in the images. Applicant defines for use in thisapplication, obfuscated camera handles, or obhandles, a term to refer toaliases for camera identifiers which may be changed by the administratorat any time, manually or algorithmically to reduce risk of loss ofprivacy. An obhandle may be arbitrary, frequently changed, orcryptographically generated so that exposure over public communicationchannels does not reveal a permanent camera identifier.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional surveillance system includes afacility asset administrator console 310 (administrator) in control of aplurality of surveillance cameras 312. The cameras stream video to avideo stream store 400 or cache co-located at a secure and redundantsurveillance service center 500 which is remote from the facility andits cameras.

The invention illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a shared camera meta dataand stream permissions store 321-329 which is under the control of theadministrator. The administrator sets permissions on whether the camerais shared with at least one responding agency. The administratorcontrols how much of the camera meta data is visible to respondingagencies such as its physical location, its resolution,color/monochrome, resolution, visible/non-visible ranges of spectrum,live streaming, and range of history availability e.g. pastepoch/current epoch. The administrator can store several sets ofpermissions and switch among them or control each permission separately.Some cameras may not be shared at all and are not in this store.

In FIG. 3 is shown that the invention also includes a responding agencyaccount management system 510 which includes the accounts and passwordsfor an agent to login at the surveillance service center 500.

FIG. 4 discloses that there are a plurality of responding agency windowlayouts 331-339 under the control of the administrator 310. The layoutsidentify the cameras for each window pane, but the permissions storedetermines what is transmitted to the window pane. Statistics, metadata, or a still test image may be used as a default during setup andtest of a display 667.

FIG. 5 includes an electronic message system to inform a respondingagency dispatcher 660 that permissions have been set for access and thatthe administrator requests that the agency use the permitted videostreams. Dispatcher selects among mobile displays 663 665 667 to assignas first responder.

The responder 667 first logs into the service center, receives a windowlayout identifying cameras, and requests display of surveillancecontent. The service center checks user name and password, retrieves andprovides the current window layout, and streams whatever theadministrator has enabled to access the shared camera meta data andvideo streams according to the permissions in stores 321-329

Live streaming or history is enabled by the administrator throughchanging a parameter within permissions store. A facility assetadministrator may select a window layout designed for different types ofemergencies or sections of a campus or have different windows fordifferent agencies.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a processor having one or more cores withinCPU 621. As is known, systems disclosed above may be embodied byprogrammable logic, field programmable gate arrays, mask programmablegate arrays, standard cells, and computing devices limited by methodsstored as instructions in non-transitory media.

Generally a computing devices 600 can be any workstation, desktopcomputer, laptop or notebook computer, server, portable computer, mobiletelephone or other portable telecommunication device, media playingdevice, a gaming system, mobile computing device, or any other typeand/or form of computing, telecommunications or media device that iscapable of communicating on any type and form of network and that hassufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computing device may execute, operate or otherwiseprovide an application, which can be any type and/or form of software,program, or executable instructions, including, without limitation, anytype and/or form of web browser, web-based client, client-serverapplication, an ActiveX control, or a Java applet, or any other typeand/or form of executable instructions capable of executing on acomputing device.

FIG. 6 depicts block diagrams of a processor or computing device 600useful for practicing an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG.6, each computing device 600 includes a central processing unit 621, anda main memory unit 622. A computing device 600 may include a storagedevice 628, an installation device 616, a network interface 618, an I/Ocontroller 623, display devices 624 a-n, a keyboard 626, a pointingdevice 627, such as a mouse or touchscreen, and one or more other I/Odevices 630 a-n such as baseband processors, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Firadios. The storage device 628 may include, without limitation, anoperating system and software.

The central processing unit 621 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 622. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit 621 is provided by amicroprocessor unit, with one or more cores, such as: those manufacturedunder license from ARM. The computing device 600 may be based on any ofthese processors, or any other processor.

Main memory unit 622 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 621. The main memory 622 may be based on any availablememory chips.

Furthermore, the computing device 600 may include a network interface618 to interface to a network through a variety of connections. In oneembodiment, the computing device 600 communicates with other computingdevices 600 via any type and/or form of gateway or tunneling protocolsuch as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). Thenetwork interface 118 may comprise a built-in network adapter, networkinterface card, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem orany other device suitable for interfacing the computing device 600 toany type of network capable of communication and performing theoperations described herein.

A computing device 600 of the sort depicted in FIG. 6 typically operatesunder the control of operating systems, which control scheduling oftasks and access to system resources. The computing device 600 can berunning any operating system such as any of the versions of theMICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of the Unixand Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS for Macintoshcomputers, any embedded operating system, any real-time operatingsystem, any open source operating system, any proprietary operatingsystem, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, or any otheroperating system capable of running on the computing device andperforming the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the computing device 600 may have differentprocessors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with thedevice. In other embodiments the computing device 600 is a mobiledevice.

In some embodiments, the computing device 600 comprises a combination ofdevices. In another of these embodiments, the computing device 600 isdevice in the iPhone smartphone line of devices, manufactured by AppleInc., of Cupertino, Calif. In still another of these embodiments, thecomputing device 600 is a device executing the Android open sourcemobile phone platform distributed by the Open Handset Alliance; forexample, the device 600 may be a device such as those provided bySamsung Electronics of Seoul, Korea, or HTC Headquarters of Taiwan,R.O.C. In other embodiments, the computing device 600 is a tablet devicesuch as, for example and without limitation, the iPad line of devices,manufactured by Apple Inc.; the Galaxy line of devices, manufactured bySamsung; and the Kindle manufactured by Amazon, Inc. of Seattle, Wash.

Referring to FIG. 7 a method is disclosed 700, comprising the stepsperformed by circuits controlling a video streaming server 500:determining handles for shared cameras, streaming permissions, and metadata in a permission control circuit 321 responsive to a facilityadministrator console 310 and storing a responding agency window layout331 responsive to a facility administrator console 310 containinghandles for video camera streams 710; verifying authenticationcredentials 720 received from a responding agency mobile device 667; andupon receiving access requests from a display device streaming videocontent 730; wherein video content is one of historical video images,live video images, and static meta data from a shared camera.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method at a server, the method comprising:receiving from a first user a trigger to notify a pre-arranged 1stemergency agency (responder) of camera stream availability 840;activating an application programming interface (API) to access selectedcameras by watcher devices operable by the responder 850; andtransmitting to the responder a notification of API activation 860.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method at an emergency agency comprising: receivinga notification of camera stream availability from a server 970; andassigning streams of camera images to responder mobile displays 980.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method at a responding agency: accepting anomination from at least one surveillance system user to access aplurality of camera streams 1093; arranging a plurality camera streamsinto a pre-arranged viewport by obfuscated handles 1096; and configuringa display to request a camera stream in a viewport 1099.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a plurality of customers of a videosurveillance service enabling a one or more responding agencies to viewshared camera streams. A plurality of Facility Asset Administrators(FAA) 310 320 control video surveillance cameras 312 322 which captureand transmit video streams to the store/cache 400 associated with asurveillance service center 500. Each FAA controls streaming from thesurveillance service center 500 to at least one Responding Agency 660.It could be two different agencies or if they are neighbors, the sameResponding Agency. Separately, each FAA notifies a video pane dispatcherof video stream availability.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of details of one video stream path. Thesurveillance service center 500 has a plurality of processor cores 520540 560 each of which could support a dedicated video stream server. InFIG. 12, FAA 310 has popped a virtual machine and API useful only toAgency “C” into processor core 560. FAA 310 has also notified theResponding Agency “C” video pane dispatcher 660 of shared cameras thatmay be streamed through the server dedicated to Agency “C”.

The dispatcher forwards the shared camera identifiers to at least onemobile video display 667. The app on the display transmitsauthentication credentials and requests meta data or live video or videohistory for each of the window panes in its window layout.

The server responds and streams the requested video. If a different FAAin the same city transmits a notification message, the video streamserver 560 will provide the mobile video display with streams from itsshared cameras.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a system for sharing private video streamswith first responders includes:

-   -   a first responder pre-designation selection subsystem means 1310        for selection of cameras, epochs, and meta data for sharing        1312, designation by facility administrator of deputies        (Activators) authorized to activate first responder video feed        1314, and designation of which first responder agencies are        nominated to receive shared camera feed 1316;    -   an apparatus 1340 for sharing private video streams;    -   a closed loop confirmation subsystem means 1350 for        invitation/nomination to enroll 1352, acceptance and enrollment        1354, transmission of executable mobile viewer application code        1356, and installation in wireless mobile displays 1358;    -   an activation subsystem means 1360 for notification of        activation 1363, focus on a specific camera selected by        Activator 1366, and communication of emphasis on specified        camera 1369; and    -   a responder subsystem means 1380 for presentation and        authentication such as by password and user identity at a login        form 1381, submission of a request for authorized camera feeds        1382, reception of meta data for display or configuration 1383,        reception of a live video feed from a shared camera 1384,        reception of a video history with navigation control 1385, and        automatic camera feed selection upon motion detection 1386. As        is known, means can be at least one of the group digital        circuits, programmable digital circuits configured by        non-transitory media coding, a processor causing performance of        a method embodiment by executing instructions encoded into        non-transitory media, and custom semiconductor electronics.

Referring now to FIG. 14, an apparatus 1400 for sharing private videostreams includes: a permissions controller for a plurality of cameras(controller 1410); the controller remotely coupled to a facilityadministrator console 1412, a video stream server (video server 1420);the controller further coupled to the video stream server, and aresponding agency account manager circuit (manager 1430), the managerremotely coupled to at least one browser 1433-9, and coupled to thevideo stream server, mutually interconnected by communication media. Inan embodiment, the apparatus also includes and connects with

a video stream receiver (receiver 1441); the receiver remotely coupledto a plurality of cameras 1442-8.In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes and connects with a videostream store (video store 400); the video store coupled to the receiver1441.In an embodiment, the manager 1430 includes a circuit to receive andvalidate a credential such as a id password, for a responding agency1432.In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes and connects with acircuit to receive commands from a facility administrator to set andreset a camera for sharing 1450.In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes and connects with acircuit to receive commands from a facility administrator to setpermission for at least one of live streaming and history streaming1460.In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes and connects with acircuit to format a webpage having window frames populated withidentifiers of shared cameras 1471; and a circuit to receive at leastone request from a remote browser to transmit at least one video imageof a shared camera 1473.In an embodiment, the permissions controller 1410 has media for storedvalues of meta data of the camera 1414; and stored values streamingpermission for live and for history 1416.In an embodiment, the video stream server 1420 also includes: a circuitto receive navigation commands from the browser 1422; a circuit tosearch forward or backward in time of recordation of the video stream1424; and a circuit to transmit at least one video frame according tonavigation commands 1426.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a method for operation of a surveillancesystem video server 1500 includes:

receiving an authentication credential from a mobile video display 1510;verifying the authentication credential is bound to a responding agency1520;reading stored parameters and permissions for at least one shared camera1530;initiating a video streaming service for shared camera images 1540; and,responding to requests for shared camera images from the mobile videodisplay according to stored permissions 1550.In an embodiment, the method also includes:transforming stored video images into a format suitable for transmissionon a mobile video display 1560; andtransmitting displayable images to the requestor 1570.

Referring now to FIG. 16, the method for operation of a mobile videodisplay 1600 includes:

receiving a notification message from facility administrator 1610; andsubmitting credentials to a surveillance service data center 1630,wherein credentials are a password and user identity.In an embodiment, the method also includes:getting a stream of video images recorded beginning at a point in timeof permission setting at a mobile video display 1650.In an embodiment, the method also includes:getting a stream of video images recorded prior to a point in time ofpermissionsetting at a mobile video display 1670.In an embodiment, the method also includes:getting displayable static meta data about a camera at a mobile videodisplay 1690.

Referring now to FIG, 17, the apparatus for sharing private videostreams further includes: a video stream cache and store 400; aresponding agency authentication circuit and credential store 1710; ashared camera permissions circuit 1730 to enable streaming metadata andimages over a range of time for each shared camera; a circuit to requesta geo-identifier 1750 from an authenticated responding agency videodisplay; a store of blacklist and whitelist geo-identifiers (geo-store)1770; and a circuit to initiate a consequence 1790 after comparing thegeo-store with a geo-identifier received from a mobile wireless videodisplay.

Referring now to FIG. 18, in an embodiment, a method for operation of asurveillance system video server further includes: upon determining anemergency condition 1801,

selecting at least one camera for exposure to responding agencies 1810;setting permissions 1820 for at least one camera to video streaming fora period of time beginning before, ending after, or including thecurrent time of setting;transmitting by secure message 1830 to the responding agency a securelink to the video stream server; whereby the responding agency isnotified to request streaming from the selected camera(s), receiving arequest from a secure browser 1840;authenticating a user by an authentication credential 1850, in anembodiment an authentication credential is a password;inspecting a request to determine a geo-identifier of the mobile videodisplay 1860;recording to a store a geo-identifier for each mobile video display1870; andchecking recorded geo-identifiers for consistency with respondingagency's owned equipment 1880. Non-limiting exemplary geo-identifiersinclude but are not limited to one of a GPS coordinate, a LCID, an IPv6address, a Wi-Fi access point, a Bluetooth beacon, a messaging hostserver, an IMEI number and their equivalents.

Referring to FIG. 19, the apparatus for sharing private video streamsfurther includes: a plurality of virtual machine images with dedicatedapplication programming interface instructions encoded in acomputer-readable non-transitory store (vmstore) 1910; a plurality ofprocessor cores (cores) coupled to said vmstore 1920; a shared memorystore 1930; a video streaming processor 1940 coupled by interprocesscommunication (IPC) to said cores through the shared memory store; acamera control circuit 1950 to record parameters for each camera andpermissions for video streams requested by obfuscated camera handles(obhandles); a responding agency authentication credential store 1960;and, an agency notification circuit 1970 to generate and transmitvirtual links to virtual machines and window layouts with obhandles.

Referring to FIG. 20, the method for operation of a surveillance systemvideo server further includes:

synthesizing a time-limited obfuscated handle for each shared camera(obhandle) 2010;setting streaming permissions for a camera to one of current epoch (liverange), past epoch (history range), and both live range and historyrange 2020;loading into a processor core a virtual machine image and dedicatedapplication programming interface (DAPI) 2030 for response to videostream requests from a specific responding agency;synthesizing a virtual link (vlink) and display pane layout populatedwith at least one obhandle 2040; andnotifying by secure messaging a responding agency of activation of thevlink to the DAPI and obhandle display 2050.

One aspect of the invention is a system for sharing private videostreams with first responders, the system including: a first responderpre-designation selection subsystem means for selection of cameras,epochs, and meta data for sharing, designation by facility administratorof deputies (Activators) authorized to activate first responder videofeed, and designation of which first responder agencies are nominated toreceive shared camera feed; a closed loop confirmation subsystem meansfor invitation/nomination to enroll, acceptance and enrollment,transmission of executable mobile viewer application code, andinstallation in wireless mobile displays; an activation subsystem meansfor notification of activation, focus on specific cameras selected byActivator, and communication of emphasis on said specified camera; and aresponder subsystem means for presentation and authentication such as bypassword and user identity at a login form, submission of a request forauthorized camera feeds, reception of meta data for display orconfiguration, reception of a live video feed from a shared camera,reception of a video history with navigation control, and automaticcamera feed selection upon motion detection.

Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus for sharing privatevideo streams, the apparatus including: a permissions controller for aplurality of cameras (controller); the controller remotely coupled to afacility administrator console, a video stream server (video server);the controller further coupled to the video stream server, and aresponding agency account manager circuit (manager), the managerremotely coupled to at least one browser, and coupled to the videostream server.

In an embodiment the apparatus also includes: a video stream receiver(receiver); the receiver remotely coupled to a plurality of cameras. Inan embodiment the apparatus also includes: a video stream store (videostore); the video store coupled to the receiver. In an embodiment, themanager is; a circuit to receive and validate a password and useridentity for a responding agency. In an embodiment the apparatus alsoincludes: a circuit to receive commands from a facility administrator toset and reset a camera for sharing.

In an embodiment the apparatus also includes: a circuit to receivecommands from a facility administrator to set permission for at leastone of live streaming and history streaming.

In an embodiment the apparatus also includes: a circuit to format awebpage having window frames populated with identifiers of sharedcameras; and a circuit to receive at least one request from a remotebrowser to transmit at least one video image of a shared camera.

In an embodiment, the permissions controller includes: stored values ofmeta data of the camera; and stored values streaming permission for liveand for history.

In an embodiment, the video stream server includes: a circuit to receivenavigation commands from the browser; a circuit to search forward orbackward in time of recordation of the video stream; and a circuit totransmit at least one video frame according to navigation commands.

Another aspect of the invention is a method for operation of asurveillance system video server, the method including: receiving anauthentication credential from a mobile video display; verifying theauthentication credential is bound to a responding agency; readingstored parameters and permissions for at least one shared camera;initiating a video streaming service for shared camera images; and,responding to requests for shared camera images from the mobile videodisplay according to stored permissions.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of a surveillance systemvideo server also includes: transforming stored video images into aformat suitable for transmission on a mobile video display; andtransmitting displayable images to the requestor.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of a mobile video displayincludes: receiving a notification message from facility administrator;and submitting credentials to a surveillance service data center,wherein credentials are a password and user identity.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of a mobile video displayalso includes: getting a stream of video images recorded beginning at apoint in time of permission setting at a mobile video display. As isknown “getting” refers to transmitting a command to a server to elicit afile transfer such as by the http command syntax “get”.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of a mobile video displayalso includes: getting a stream of video images recorded prior to apoint in time of permission setting at a mobile video display.

In an embodiment, the method for operation of a mobile video displayalso includes: getting displayable static meta data about a camera at amobile video display.

In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes: a video stream cache andstore; a responding agency authentication circuit and credential store;a shared camera permissions circuit to enable streaming metadata andimages over a range of time for each shared camera; a circuit to requesta geo-identifier from an authenticated responding agency video display;a store of blacklist and whitelist geo-identifiers (geo-store); acircuit to initiate a consequence after comparing the geo-store with ageo-identifier received from a mobile wireless video display.

In an embodiment, the method also includes: upon determining anemergency condition, selecting at least one camera for exposure toresponding agencies; setting permissions for at least one camera tovideo streaming for a period of time beginning before, ending after, orincluding the current time of setting; transmitting by secure message tothe responding agency a secure link to the video stream server; wherebythe responding agency is notified to request streaming from the selectedcamera(s), receiving a request from a secure browser; authenticating auser by an authentication credential, in an embodiment an authenticationcredential is a password; inspecting a request to determine ageo-identifier of the mobile video display; recording to a store ageo-identifier for each mobile video display; and checking recordedgeo-identifiers for consistency with responding agency's ownedequipment, wherein a geo-identifier is one of a GPS coordinate, a LCID,an IPv6 address, a Wi-Fi access point, a Bluetooth beacon, a messaginghost server, and an IMEI number.

In an embodiment, reference to a camera is hidden by obfuscated camerahandle or identifier i.e. obhandles. Malicious recording and replayingrequests for video streams without the assistance of the administratorcould fail due to expired obhandles In an embodiment, the method alsoincludes: a plurality of virtual machine images with dedicatedapplication programming interface instructions encoded in acomputer-readable non-transitory store (vmstore); a plurality ofprocessor cores (cores) coupled to said vmstore; a shared memory store;a video streaming processor coupled by interprocess communication (IPC)to said cores through the shared memory store; a camera control circuitto record parameters for each camera and permissions for video streamsrequested by obfuscated camera handles (obhandles); a responding agencyauthentication credential store; and, an agency notification circuit togenerate and transmit virtual links to virtual machines and windowlayouts with obhandles.

In an embodiment, the method also includes: synthesizing a time-limitedobfuscated handle for each shared camera (obhandle); setting streamingpermissions for a camera to one of current epoch (live range), pastepoch (history range), and both live range and history range; loadinginto a processor core a virtual machine image and dedicated applicationprogramming interface (DAPI) for response to video stream requests froma specific responding agency; synthesizing a virtual link (vlink) anddisplay pane layout populated with at least one obhandle; and notifyingby secure messaging a responding agency of activation of the vlink tothe DAPI and obhandle display.

Conclusion

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems, apparatus, and methods by a facility administratorwho has the option to pre-designate first responders which can receiveimmediate real-time security camera access during emergency situations;the cameras are shared only when an administrator activates firstresponder access.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by providing immediate situational awareness whichcan be crucial when there are intruders, a fire, or other situations.The insights that first responders gain from the clear, deep visibilitycan directly impact their actions—from necessary evacuations, to thespecific protective measures they might take.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by giving Public Safety Officers the ability toshare live video surveillance cameras on smart phones during anemergency.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by providing a coordinated visibility componentinto emergency decision making.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems both by equipping local first responders withcritical, real-time insights in the event of an emergencysituation—while still retaining full daily privacy.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by a pre-designated list of first responders whowill be authorized to view the video during emergencies. They will alsoauthorize specific internal personnel to be capable of activating theemergency video feed.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by activation only during emergencies. Followingset up, the video streams will continue to be private—only accessible bythe organization—until authorized personnel activate the video access.Once the emergency video access is enabled, all designated firstresponders can view video from any major web browser or a secure mobileapp.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by an option to identify specific cameras for thefirst responders to view. All designated first responders will receivean email which includes direct links to the specified cameras.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by force touch activation. If an authorized personis facing direct danger with insufficient time to launch theapplication, they can use “force touch” on the application icon on theirphone, plus one confirming tap. This will enable first responder accessto the cameras.

The invention can be easily distinguished from conventional videosurveillance systems by an open RESTful cloud video API to allow theorganization's physical security teams to integrate the first respondervideo emails and access with emergency notification systems they mayhave in place for first responders

The claimed subject matter is easily distinguished from ongoing userpermission setting to file access. The claimed subject matter is easilydistinguished from unauthorized access to cameras attached directly to apublic network at obscure IP addresses. The activation of the videostreams begins a collaborative environment among responders, theirsupervisors, and other responding agencies. The claimed subject matteris easily distinguished from conventional video security systems whichgenerally store images for after the event analysis. Generally,privately owned and installed security assets are not accessible togovernment agencies except under court order. Privacy and propertyinterests inhibit availability of images on private property.

Having described certain embodiments of methods and systems fordistributing access credentials to video streams, it will now becomeapparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporatingthe concepts of the disclosure may be used. Therefore, the disclosureshould not be limited to certain embodiments, but rather should belimited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A system for sharing private video streams with first responders, thesystem comprising: a first responder pre-designation selection subsystemmeans for selection of cameras, epochs, and meta data for sharing,designation by facility administrator of deputies (Activators)authorized to activate first responder video feed, and designation ofwhich first responder agencies are nominated to receive shared camerafeed; an apparatus for sharing private video streams with a firstresponder; a closed loop confirmation subsystem means forinvitation/nomination to enroll, acceptance and enrollment, transmissionof executable mobile viewer application code, and installation inwireless mobile displays; an activation subsystem means for notificationof activation, focus on a specific camera selected by Activator, andcommunication of emphasis on specified camera; and a responder subsystemmeans for presentation and authentication such as by password and useridentity at a login form, submission of a request for authorized camerafeeds, reception of meta data for display or configuration, reception ofa live video feed from a shared camera, reception of a video historywith navigation control, and automatic camera feed selection upon motiondetection.
 2. The apparatus for sharing private video streams of claim1, the apparatus comprising: a permissions controller for a plurality ofcameras (controller); the controller remotely coupled to a facilityadministrator console, a video stream server (video server); thecontroller further coupled to the video stream server, and a respondingagency account manager circuit (manager), the manager remotely coupledto at least one browser, and coupled to the video stream server.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2 further comprising: a video stream receiver(receiver); the receiver remotely coupled to a plurality of cameras. 4.The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising: a video stream store (videostore); the video store coupled to the receiver.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the manager comprises: a circuit to receive and validatea password and user identity for a responding agency.
 6. The apparatusof claim 2 further comprising: a circuit to receive commands from afacility administrator to set and reset a camera for sharing, thecircuit coupled to the facility administrator console and to the videostream server.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: a circuitto receive commands from a facility administrator to set permission forat least one of live streaming and history streaming.
 8. The apparatusof claim 2 further comprising: a circuit to format a webpage havingwindow frames populated with identifiers of shared cameras; and acircuit to receive at least one request from a remote browser totransmit at least one video image of a shared camera.
 9. The apparatusof claim 2 wherein the permissions controller comprises: stored valuesof meta data of the camera; and stored values streaming permission forlive and for history.
 10. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the videostream server comprises: a circuit to receive navigation commands fromthe browser; a circuit to search forward or backward in time ofrecordation of the video stream; and a circuit to transmit at least onevideo frame according to navigation commands.
 11. The apparatus of claim2 further comprising: a video stream cache and store; a respondingagency authentication circuit and credential store; a shared camerapermissions circuit to enable streaming metadata and images over a rangeof time for each shared camera; a circuit to request a geo-identifierfrom an authenticated responding agency video display; a store ofblacklist and whitelist geo-identifiers (geo-store); and a circuit toinitiate a consequence after comparing the geo-store with ageo-identifier received from a mobile wireless video display, thecircuits, stores, and cache mutually coupled.
 12. The apparatus of claim11 further comprising: a plurality of virtual machine images withdedicated application programming interface instructions encoded in acomputer-readable non-transitory store (vmstore); a plurality ofprocessor cores (cores) coupled to said vmstore; a shared memory store;a video streaming processor coupled by interprocess communication (IPC)to said cores through the shared memory store; a camera control circuitto record parameters for each camera and permissions for video streamsrequested by obfuscated camera handles (obhandles); a responding agencyauthentication credential store; and, an agency notification circuit togenerate and transmit virtual links to virtual machines and windowlayouts with obhandles.